Controlling means for elevator-doors.



I. W. PEELLE.

CONTROLLING MEANS FOR ELEVATOR DOORS.

APPLICATION FILED APR.8. 1916.

1,257,109 Patented F65) 1918..

JOHN w. PEELLE, or BROOKLYN, new roan, .assrsnon T0 rrrn PEELLE comrenr,on

NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEJV YORK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented ldelo. 3.9,

' Application filed Aprilfi, 1916. Serial No. 89,878.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN VJ. PEELLE, a citizen of the UnitedStates,residing at the borough of Brooklyn, in the city of New York, county ofKings, and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Controlling Means for Elevator-Doors, of which thefollowing is aspecification, reference being had therein to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part thereof.

My invention relates to controlling means for elevator doors and moreparticularly to a motor actuated mechanism common to, and operative inrelation to, all of the doors in an elevator shaft.

A controlling means for elevator doors made in accordance with myinvention is especially adapted for use in connection with verticallysliding elevator doors, which ordinarily are made in a plurality ofsections so connected as to have simultaneous movement in oppositedirections. In those doors of this type which are commonly known assemiautomatic, one of the door sections is of relatively greater weightthan the other, so as to secure an overbalancing of the sections in amanner to cause the doors to either automatically open, or automaticallyclose, according to which section is overweighted. In this type ofdoors, it is necessary to provide a limit stop to prevent the opening orclosing of the doors except under the control of the elevator operator.

Heretofore in semi automatic elevator doors where the opening or closingof the doors is under the control of a motor, it has been necessary toprovide each door with its own motor, thus complicating the elevatorinstallation and making it prohibitive to use this mechanism inconnection with in expensive installations such as are commonly used infactories'and warehouses. To obviate this condition, I provide acontrolling mechanism which is common to all doors in an elevator shaftbut may be used in connection with any one of said doors, without havingany operative effect upon the other doors, said mechanism beingcontrolled from the car and its operative efiect being deter,- mined bythe position of the car in the. elevator shaft. In the embodiment of myinvention shown in the accompanying drawthe extent that no door can beopened unless a car is on a substantial level with the sill of thedoorway closed by the door to be opened, the motor for impartingmovement to the door will act as a check or retard in controlling themovement of the door section upon which it operates when the same hasmovement, the draft mechanism actuated by the motor being so associatedwith the several doors that it will be normally in the operativerelation to each of said doors but will pass from this relation upon theactuation of any door.

In addition to its functions in opening and closing the several elevatordoors, the motor and its draft mechanism may be utilized as asupplemental lock for preventing the opening of anydoor while theelevator car is in travel, or when it is not at the door to be opened. IThe invention consists primarily in such novel features construction andcombina- 1 tion of parts as are hereinafter set forth and described andmore particularly pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

Referring to the drawings Figure 1 is a front ele ation of series ofelevator doors showing trolling means therefor:

Fig. 2 is a side view of the adjacent body portion of two doors in theclosed position; and

Fig. 3 is a detailed view showing the limit two of a my constopmechanism and the controlling means therefor.

Like letters refer to like parts throughout the several views.

In the accompanying drawings, 1 have illustrated my invention inconnection with .the elevator doors upon the two adjoining floors of abuilding, it being understood that by a mere extension of the draftcables and their appurtenances, the controlling means may be applied toany desired number of doors in a shaft. In the drawin I have alsoillustrated the invention in connection with semi-automatic doors of theself-opening type, in connection with which the form of the inventionshown is especially adapted.

lathe drawings, the elevator shaft itself at opis illustrated at a, saidshaft havin posits sides thereof parallel guide rails b for the elevatordoors. Each of the doors shown comprises two sections, 'an*uppr sectionand a lower section :3 these sections being caused to movesimultaneously and to the,

same extent in opposite directions by the flexible connections e passingover vthe pulleys or sheaves ,f. The lower. section a? in the tom of theirlventionshown, :is heavier than the upper section 0- so as to causethe door vto have a normal tendency to open.

This over-balancing of the upper door section by the lower section maybe secured by making the lower section of heavier construotion, or bymerely; applying thereto an overhalancing weight 3:.

" The section :5 in the term of the invention shown is provided with aflanged top rail an 'ular bracket 2' b" means of which ower may beapplied to the doors for closing same.

In semi-automatic doors, it is essential to provide restraining meanscounteracting the normal tendency of the doors to move under gravity,such means being in the nature of a limit stop which must be released topermit the opening or closing of the doors. In, the form of theinvention shown, this limit stop comprises a latch bar is pivoted at k,the head of said bar being normally projected beneath the top rail orbar 9 of the section 0?. Acting upon the lower arm of the bar is is alever m upon one arm of which the spring n, acts in a manner tonormallyproject the head of the bar is in the path of the top rail or bar 9.Carried by the lever on is a plunger a normally projecting in the pathof a cam p carried by and movable with the elevator car 9. By

providing actuating means for the limit stop of the character shown inthe accompanying drawings, and means carried by the car cooperatingtherewith to release said limitstop when the car is on a substantiallevel with the sill of the door to be opened, only one door of all thosein a shaft may be opened at a time and that door will be the one atwhich the car is located at the time. Other, and manually operative,means for locking door sections together may be employed if desired,however.

Also acting upon the doorsections at each doorway in the shaft, is amotop-actuated controlling mechanism normallyin the op erative relationto'all doors in a shaft to provide in the upper'part of any door andthat the operation of either of these mechanisms alone will not permitthe opening of the door. It .will also be ob served that the operationof one of these mechanisms is entirely automatic under the control ofthe elevator car, so that there must be Sucha definite sequence in theoperations of the controlling or-locking-mechanislns as will-insure thepresence of the car at the door which is .opened.

In the form of the invention shown, I the elevator shaft upon opposite.sides thereof, pulleys or sheaves H over which pass draft cables 8-8which also pass through openings in the brackets 2' carried by theseveral door sections d. Each of said draft cables has thereon adjacenteach bracket 2' and normally in engagement therewith respectively, aplurality of blocks or balls't-t firmly. secured to said cables. 'Thedepending ends of the cables 88" have attached thereto weights M and theother ends thereof .are connected to the piston of a compressed airmotor 41, or to any other desired form of motor., The motor "0 shown inthe drawings is ofan old and well-knowntype and a detail descriptionthereof will not be entered into. The Tmotor is controlled by means ofan old and well known form of magnetic valve to in circuit with thecircuit controlling push buttons w and 'w carried by the elevator car g.

The operation of the herein described controlling fo1lows:-

. When a car is between floors,-the limit stopmechanism of all of thedoors in the mechanism. is substantially as shaft, will be so set as tohave thelatch bar is projected in a manner to cause the upper endthereof to be in the path of the top rail of bar 9 of lts door and allof the blocks or balls t -t upon both sides of the several doors'will beinoperative engagement with 'the'under side of their cooperatingbrackets 2. As the car passes each floor, in the form of the invention.shown, the cam' 79 thereof will engage the plunger 0, and through thelever m oscillate the bar k in a manner to dlsengage it from the top bar9. By reason of the fact that the section 03 is overweighted the releaseof the bar It would permit the automatic opening of the door, if themotor j 4:, through the Y cables s.s and the balls tt' thereon, did notprevent movement of the doors. As the car passes each floor the stop iswill return to its normal projected position beneath the top bar 9.

If it be desired to open any door, the car memos controlled by the rateof movement of the.

cables s-s'.

It will be observed, however, that while the door at the doorway wherethe elevator is stopped is permitted limit stops it since the blockst-t' operative upon said other doors. will recede from the angles i.

When it is desired to close the door, the operator merely pushes thebutton 'w which will actuate the valve w in a manner to re- I verse themotor '0 and raise all of the blocks or balls Pt, and thus raise anydoor which may happen to be open at the time, said blocks or ballscoming to rest directly beneath all of the angles '1'. of the severaldoors preparatory said doors. The mechanical closing of the doors underthe control of the operator avoids any necessity for any niceproportioning of the relative weights of the different sections of thedoors when a plurality of sections are used. If it be desired to fullyclose the doors before starting the car, the blocks or balls t-t willhold the doors in the closed osition until the car has been started, andtlie limit stop 75 becomes operative in relation to the door which hasjust been closed.

it is not my intention to limit the invention to the precise details ofconstruction shown in the accompanying drawings, it being apparent-Without departing of the invention. I

Having described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to haveprotected by Letters Patent is 1. A controlling mechanism. for elevatordoors which doors consist of two sections operatively connected, wherebythey will have simultaneous vertical movement in opposite directions,and the upper of said sections'being overbalanced, by the lower, saidmechanism consisting of astop operative upon the lower door section ofeach door in a shaft. when it is in the closed posifrom the spirit andscope tion, actuating means for each of'said stops,

mounted in said. shaft, means carried by an elevator car coiiperatingwith said actuating means whereby said stop can be released only whenthe car is at a dooropening, a

motor, a plurality of cables operatively conto'open the remainingdoorswillbe held closed solely by their to the next actuation of any ofthat such may be varied nected with said motorand extending verticallyin the shaftupon opposite sides of each door in said shaft, a pluralityof blocks carried by each of said cables, a block upon each cable beingadjacent the lower section of each door in the shaft, brackets carriedby the lower section of each door, said cables passing freely throughsaid brackets and said blocks normally engaging the under side of saidbrackets respectively, and means carried by the car whereby said motormay be actuated to lower said blocks to permit the opening of any doorin the shaft when the stop mechanism therefor is released by the car, orto raise said blocks, to close any door which is opened.

2. T he combination of a plurality of elevator doors which comprise twovertically sliding sections movable in opposite directions, the lower ofwhich overbalances the upper, of a plurality of stops operative upon thelower sections of said doors respectively when they are in the closedposition, actuating means for said stops mounted adjacent each door,means carried by an elevator car cotiperating with said actuating meansre spectively, a motor, cables operatively connected with said motor andextending upon opposite sides of each door, manually operativecontrolling means for said motor carried by the elevator car andoperative independently of the movement of the car; and coiiperatingmeans carried by said cables respectively and the lower section of eachof said doors whereby said cables may have movement independently ofsaid door section or ma have movement with any door section the stop forwhich has been released, when said motor has movement in one direction,and any opened doors will be closed when'said motor has movement in the-0ppo site direction.

3. Acontrolling mechanism for elevator doors omprising two sectionsoperatively conncctcd whereby they will have simul taneousanovement inopposite directions, the upper of said sections being overbalanced bythe lower, embodying therein a top bar upon the lower section, lateralextensions upon the said top bar,alimit stop adapted to pass under oneof said extensions when the door is closed, actuating means for saidlimit stop, means carried by an elevator ear cooperating with saidactuating means, an angle bracket having an opening therethrough carriedby the lower section of each door in a shaft, a... motor, with saidmotor, puileys at the top of the shaft about which said cables pass,said cables passing through the openings in the brackets on each of thedoor sections respectively, blocks secured to said cables below saidbrackets whereby any door section may have downward movement with cablesconnected said cables and saidhlbcks willrgede from my si'g'natiire inthe presence of two subthe door sectidns'remeiining-in clsedp0siscribing witnesses, this 4th day of April, jtion, sethatjtheseyerifl doors of the shaft 1916. v maybe selectively .openeiijasdetermined'by JOHN W. PEELLE. 5 .thezpositionj pfthe elevator car and0011- Witnesses:

bmlh ng meansfor said motor. JUDITH Human;

n wimessjwhereof I have hereunto @ifixed CLAmcE FRANCK.

